Community rumors about Boo's reputation serve as the act of discrimination in question. He is thought to be a violent criminal, despite the fact he is a quiet, softspoken harmless character who loves children.

The town blames him for any misdeed that occurs, and people largely see him as a reclusive reject. This reputation is only enhanced by the fact that his father keeps him away from outside influences.

The stigma that has been attached to Boo's persona is the act of discrimination that sets him apart from the "normal" townspeople.

He is discriminated against by the entire town as they make him out to be the boogey-man who is responsible for every evil or criminal deed that occurs in the town. He becomes the "malevolent phantom" to all of the townspeople and they judge him for it, even though all he has done is stay in his house. bothering no one for years on end. They do this because he is different; and people who are different are often ostracized by society, and held accountable for an entire slew of perceptions and judgments that are unfairly tacked onto them. In the middle of chapter one, Scout describes how

"People said [Boo] went out at night...and peeped in windows. When people's azaleas froze...it was because he had breathed on them. Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work."

So, all of Maycomb's ills were tied to Boo Radley, and he becomes a legend that small children are afraid of, whose parents have passed their prejudices down to.

In addition to the town disriminating against him, his own father is the one that has kept him locked in the house nearly his entire life. Mr. Radley is a mean, cruel man whose stern way of raising children allowed Boo no leniency the one time he got into trouble with the law. That kind of discrimination can quickly teach a child to not believe in himself, and it can destroy one's self-esteem.

Jem, Scout and Dill practice a form of discrimination as they accept the town's presumptions about Boo, and as a result, make him the center fascination for many of their challenges and games in the summers. Atticus tells them to stop, and that Boo had the right "to stay inside free from the attentions of inquisitive children". He feels that they are bothering Boo, being rude, and imposing the town's perceptions of who he is on him.